FIFA Advanced: Serie A League and the big leagues call for reform

The Serie A League (Italy) and the three other major European leagues have issued a joint statement against FIFA, putting forward three concrete demands for governance reform. The document, signed by Serie A League, Premier League (United Kingdom), La Liga (Spain) and Bundesliga (Germany), denounces a “relentless expansionism” that threatens the sustainability of national championships.

Joint statement of the four leagues

In the statement, the four leagues denounce an inadequate governance system and call for greater participation of the various football sectors in FIFA’s decisions. The text highlights that only about 1% of professional footballers take part in the FIFA World Cup, while the rest endure interruptions to national leagues.

Criticism of FIFA’s governance model

The leagues accuse the FIFA president of concentrating regulatory, commercial and political power without adequate checks and balances. The statement notes that the European Commission received a complaint in October 2024 concerning the International Match Calendar (IMC), deemed harmful to the economic sustainability of domestic competitions.

The future of FIFA is important to everyone who cares about football, because our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are weakened.

The document also criticises the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, which envisaged the entry of private investors into the commercial rights of tournaments, a project later abandoned after pressure from the federations.

Reform proposals and Infantino’s response

The leagues propose the creation of a permanent body that includes federations, leagues, clubs and players, with independent assessments for high‑impact projects. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has acknowledged the concerns and proposed an independent external review of the governance model.

Infantino also stated that the FFE project has been withdrawn and invited federations to take part in a consultation to discuss decision‑making changes. Moreover, he emphasized that any statutory amendments will need to be approved by the 211 member federations.